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Published: August 6th 2012
It's a sign
Loving these modified street signsAhh Italy where the coffee cart on the train actually has a mini espresso machine on it (none of this rubbish drip filter stuff).
We had some issues finding a host in Florence, so had requested a couple of nights in a BnB. At least we thought we had! When we got to Florence we found a cafe with net access and checked and had no response (and then realised that the request had never been sent). So, we quickly sent another request to a different place and then went for a walk to find a park to chill out in. Thankfully the owner was fast at getting back to us and was able to confirm availability right away. We went and dropped our bags in the apartment (while he cleaned up after the last guests) and then went back into Florence feeling a lot better to have some accom and to not be walking around with 18kg bags on our backs anymore!
After a short walk we found ourselves at the Palazzo Strozzi which is a gallery showcasing a variety of exhibitions. The one that caught our eye was "American Dreams" which was an interesting collection of modern
Weird costumes
From the exhibition of modern American Art. art and it was the last day. We needed food and drink first so went continued in to Florence to grab a panini and a bitter ginger drink, have a brief look around and then went back to the gallery which was well worth the 5 euro entry with some great stuff (see pics), and then went back to our apartment to rest (and book a tour for tomorrow).
After a pretty reasonable sleep, Monday saw us heading back to the train station to do a guided tour of Tuscany for the day. First stop was the beautiful city of Siena which hosts the crazy horse race known as "Il Palio" twice a year (early july and mid August). The race takes place in the central square of the city and is deeply ingrained in the culture of the city (it goes back to the middle ages). The city is divided into 17 districts and for each race 10 of the districts compete to race around the square (covered in sand and mud) for three laps (around one minute). Anyone born in Siena knows which district they belong to and they will belong to that district for life. There's
Stars
These are beautiful and there was a room full of them. nothing wrong with marrying someone from another district, but when the horse race is on, the husband usually leaves the house to avoid arguments! An interesting fact is that the horses don't have to have a rider on them at the time of crossing the line to win the race and it has happenned that the winner has been a horse running without a rider. Also in Siena we visited the cathedral which while not as big as Duomo in Florence is highly decorated (especially the floor) and quite stunning inside. There were plans back in 1339 to enlarge the cathedral and make it was one of the biggest in Italy. They started making it, but then the plague of 1348 killed two-thirds of the city and it was never finished.
After Siena we popped back on our tour bus and went to a local organic farm which grew olives, grapes and saffron. We were seated and fed a four course meal with a different wine at every course. This would've been a highlight but it was so rushed! We barely got a chance to finish one dish and it was whisked away. We didn't manage to finish our
Squint
These are clever. They are actually miniatures. That heater is maybe 2cm high. The trees behind the scene are of similar size. It's all mounted in the wall behind a piece of curved glass to give you the illusion of looking into another world. There were maybe 6 of them - all different and so clear. wines at all (but managed to get quite drunk anyway). It was silly because at the end there was a 20-30min wait before we did a guided tour of the farm. Oh well - the joys of organised tours! The tour of the farm was pretty rushed too - but we got to talk to some cows so it's all good. 😊
San Gimignano was next - a small village known as Italy's Manhatten. The reason for this is the collection of tall towers around the town. Since the town is quite low, they look disproportionately large (like skyscrapers) - hence the name. The highlights here were some delicious gelati, some great views of Tuscany and Nena buying a decent travel cuttlery set.
From there we went to Pisa (yes it really was a whirlwind tour of Tuscany!) to point and laugh at the tower, and at the security guards trying to stop people standing on the grass to take the obligatory Pisa tower pushing photo. That was the last stop of the day and we were driven back to Florence exhausted but happy to have at least got out of the city and seen a bit more
Old stuff
Florence facade of Tuscany than we probably would've otherwise.
Tuesday morning we managed to find a highly recommended cafe and Nena tried a tasty coffee made with a hazelnut syrup, but served as a small single shot. Strong and sweet! We then wandered around the streets being shocked at the sheer numbers of tourists - it's amazing. Lots and lots of large tour groups all wandering vaguely down streets following someone holding up a brightly coloured umberella with cars, bikes and locals trying to find their way through them. We went to see the Duomo but the queue was looking pretty huge so we decided to leave it for another day. For lunch we went to a little (very little) hole in the wall panini shop which served up delicious panini for just over $3 Australian, and you could grab a glass of wine for just over $2. We sat in the laneway with all the other lunchers, sipped our wine and smiled at the world. Yum. By the way, the astute reader may at this stage notice that there are less photos of foods since arriving in Italy. There are two reasons for this: the first is that Italian often
Siena
This is where the horse race is held. doesn't look that spectacular (it just tastes amazing), the other is that we are often half way through scoffing the food before we remember to take a photo.
After lunch we went in search of a bus to take us up to Michelangelo's Piazza which is up on a hill overlooking Florence. The bus stop proved very difficult to find so eventually we caught a different bus which went up another way. We duly admired the view, and the echinacea growing in the garden (can we claim this on tax now?), and then went back down for a well deserved cold dessert. Chris had a gelato: half sesame, honey and milk, and the other half ginger. Nena went with the icey cold lemon granita which was seriously tangy and refreshing. Yum. Nena was feeling a bit sick, so we went home pretty early, cooked up a big vegetable soup and went to bed early (ish).
Wednesday morning and we packed our bags and headed to our hosts place - Daniele who lived on the outskirts of Florence in an amazing old (and HUGE) house all by himself. It was clearly one of the oldest places in the village
and was probably owned by a rich local baron or something. It had a large walled garden which contained an extended family of tortoises wandering around. From very small young ones up to the oldest largest one (about the size of a small plate). It was quite funny seeing them all ambling about through the bushes and munching on veggie scraps left out for them. The house also contained a lot of antique furniture and old paintings and very thick walls. It was a nice cool and dark respite from the heat outside. Around Florence, it has been very dry for some time, and the yard outside reminded Chris of Broken Hill (minus the three corner jacks thankfully!). After a bit of a chat we went back in to Florence, agreeing to meet up later. After another tasty panini, we went into the Duomo which had a much shorter queue today (although it was a stupid queue that went straight out into the sun). Chris realised he was wearing a singlet top so used our hats to cover his shoulders as per the usual church regulations. The Duomo is huge on the inside – nowhere near as beautiful as the
Floor mosaics
Yep - showing the rude bits again. The half naked woman represents temptation. She has one foot on a boat and one foot on a ball - showing how unstable she is. one in Siena, but more dramatic in its size.
After a short walk around inside and the obligatory pictures, we went back out into the heat and met up with our host to catch a bus up to Friesso which is a nearby town that has an amazing view over Florence. From the bus stop we climbed up to the monastery and peered out over Tuscany. It was quite beautiful and a bit cooler as there was a bit of a breeze. Our view had a nice soundtrack as there was an orchestra playing in a small hall right next to the view. It was odd, as there was a sign nearby requesting no noise or music in the monastery. We walked back down and had a bit of a look around the village. There wasn’t much going on apart from some girls squealing and trying to take photos of some Italian pop star who was in town for a performance, so we caught the bus back down again and headed home.
The next morning (after a bit of a sleep in) we borrowed a couple of bikes from Daniele and went for a ride up to a
Siena dome
Very decorative local church on top of a nearby hill. It was a pretty steep ride up there and the bikes weren’t really built for hills but we eventually got there. Around the church were some big olive groves, and on the way down there was a nice herb garden just growing on the side of the road. After lunch at home we went back into Florence to search for some shoes for Nena (which we failed to find) and then met up with Daniele for dinner in a little trattoria. Our meal was disturbed by a guy coming in to the restaurant while being held in an armlock while another guy was smacking him over the head. There was a lot of yelling and then the manager told them to go outside. Then the police came, and then an ambulance (so perhaps the smacking over the head worsened outside). It was all a bit exciting but not the best for digestion. When we left the manager apologised and gave us a small bottle of red wine.
The next morning we packed up and went to catch a train to La Spezia (near Cinque Terre). Our plans were slightly thwarted by
Piccolomini library
The frescoes in here are extremely clear and bright despite being over 500 years old. Entrance to the room is tightly controlled to preserve the frescoes. the rail staff going on strike, so we were stuck in Florence for 6-7 hours or so. After some more food, some gelati and some sitting around in the shade we managed to get a (very crowded) train to Pisa and then change to one heading to La Spezia.
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Kat
non-member comment
how cute!
did you find out why there were a family of Tortoises living in the garden ? Whilst gorgeous it seems rather odd to have so many of them as "pets"... Of course, I want a Tortoise now!! :)